Snow Angel
by AaronCottrell97
Summary: Emily remembers the amount of times she has saved Thomas from the snow, and becomes conceited about how she's never been stuck in the snow. But what she fails to remember is that Sudrian karma is terrifyingly punctual; if there is no confusion or delay, it hits you. Hard. And, low and beyond, Emily gets to have a taste of what it's like to be stuck in the snow.


It had been three days now since the first snowfall came to Sodor for that winter. James and Molly were the ones to witness it and cherish it for a change while Thomas and Emily held back to give them a chance. The engines had spent those first few days clearing away the main sections of track, but there were still some spots that needed clearing, and Emily was soon to have a rather different experience with snow than she usually did.

One evening, when the engines were settling down, they had their snowploughs on as the Fat Controller had ordered like he did every day since the start of his work.

Thomas and Emily were still awake, wearing their own ploughs too. After James and Molly cherished the first snowfall, Thomas and Emily were now taking their chance to love the snowy landscape around them. While not as pure and untouched as the first snowfall, it was still mystical and beautiful to behold.

"It's rather lovely, isn't it, Emily?" said Thomas.

"Mmm…Yes, Tommy. I suppose it is," Emily replied as she kept gazing out to the snow-covered world. As Thomas looked around with her, he suddenly looked down at his snowplough and felt two particular memories tweak in his mind.

"I still remember how I used to hate snowploughs, even today," he said, not sounding particular or serious.

Emily looked at him. "You not complaining about it again, are you?" she asked.

"No, Emily, I'm not," answered Thomas. "I just remember those two times you were involved. Of course, the first time wasn't very pleasant for either of us, but your bossy behaviour fell upon Gordon and James' doing. The second time was absolutely delightful. I still remember when I got stuck, then I saw you coming for me, Emily. Just seeing you come to help me made me ever-so grateful for having a snowplough ready if I need it. Ever since that day, I never gave a thought to the heavy discomfort they can give you."

Emily smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Thomas. I remember both those times, even the first one fondly. When you ignored my first warning and got stuck in the snow, although I may have been too bossy then, I was truly worried for you while looking for you. I was just relived you were alright when I found you. And the second time truly healed that unfortunate event. That was a much happier time for both of us…and you created our little game for the snow."

Thomas smiled back at her. "I just loved that feeling of seeing you arrive to save me. Like I said back then…when I saw you coming towards me, in the falling snow, I thought you were the most beautiful sight imaginable – a perfect snow-angel in her beautiful winter wonderland. I've been helped out of problems by other engines and friends before…but you're my favourite rescuer to look forward to if I need help."

Emily had to giggle. "Aww, Thomas…you never stop being sweet, do you?" She sighed happily and stayed quiet for a minute or two…then she suddenly realized something herself.

"You know, Thomas…I've never had an issue with my snowplough. Maybe because I made little to no fuss about them back then, I don't think I'd ever need help. You can be a little too confident sometimes, which landed you in snowy trouble in the past…but with the exception of Donald and Douglas' snowball, I seem to know my way around any snow."

Thomas looked at Emily. "Don't start being like I was back then, Emily. I've learned by lesson by now, and I don't want you to forget the possible risks."

"Well…that's unusual to hear, coming from you, who shook and banged your snowplough until it couldn't be worn," Emily replied with a smirk.

Thomas sighed. "I'm just saying, I wouldn't want you to be caught in such a situation. It's not easy for me to contemplate you in discomfort, Emily."

"Thank you, Thomas," said Emily. "I'm just saying you don't need to worry about me. Goodnight now."

"Goodnight, Emily," said Thomas as they went to sleep that night.

The next morning, Thomas and Emily woke up to see the Fat Controller arrive.

"Thomas, Emily, there are still some sections of track that have not been cleared away. I'll need you two to clear those tracks away before you get to your work today."

"Yes, sir," they replied. Emily went outside first, then Thomas followed, turning to the line beside her.

"Well, Emily, whatever tracks may need clearing, be sure to leave some undone. I'm thinking we could meet up later for our first 'Snowstorm,' this year once our work is done."

"I'd love that, Thomas," said Emily, smirking again. "You just be careful with your plough. I won't run into any trouble. My snowplough works perfectly, and I won't need any help. See you later."

Thomas watched her go on her way. He couldn't help but feel she was being a little too confident. She could be moody at times, but he usually enjoyed it. This was different. He really wanted her to be alright.

"Come on, Thomas. We don't want to keep your Branch Line waiting with all that snow," said his driver. So Thomas set off to clear away whatever snow he'd come to. He could feel the awkward weight of his snowplough pressing down on his buffer beam, but he didn't care. He was too busy thinking about Emily. He knew she was a smart, witty engine, but no engine was perfect and even she could have the occasional run-in.

But as Emily ran along the line, clearing her tracks, she was doing quite well.

"Hmm. I guess I don't need help after all. This will do well for our game later," she smiled to herself. But soon, Emily would have a rather unexpected change that day…

After clearing his Branch Line, Thomas felt a little better when he went to collect Annie and Clarabel to start his run.

"Hello, Thomas," said Annie. "How was clearing the tracks today?"

"Alright, I guess," said Thomas. "But Emily…"

"What? Is she alright?" asked Clarabel.

"That's what I'm wondering," said Thomas. "We were talking about our snowploughs last night…and she stated that she's never had a problem with her snowplough before…she sort of bragged that she wouldn't need help like I did in the past."

"She's only having a little fun, Thomas, Isn't she Annie?" said Clarabel.

"Indeed, dear," said Annie. "Do you have anything planned for her, Thomas?"

"I'm hoping we can meet up later and play 'Snowstorm,' for the first time this year," said Thomas. "I just hope she's alright out there. I look forward to the rest of this winter…"

Emily, meanwhile had cleared most of her tracks with no problems. And while Thomas worked away on his Branch Line, she managed all her work in good time too. All her goods were on time and delivered safely. It had been a cloudy, but dry winter day with no snowfalls. It seemed simple enough for her to get back to Thomas.

"Well," she said as she delivered the last of her trucks. "Now I can go find Thomas and start our game." She whistled happily and set out to find him. She felt quite clever after having no problems so far…But suddenly, only a few minutes into her trip, it started to snow very steadily. Big flakes began piling up quickly in front of Emily. Before long, the rails in front of here were fairly covered again, making her have to plough along her way again. Slowly, but surely, the snow became thicker and heavier against her plough.

"Dear me. I wasn't expecting something like this," she said to herself. She went faster, hoping to beat the snow before it became too thick and heavy, but suddenly, a rock that was hidden under the snow whacked against Emily's snowplough, knocking off to one side of her buffer beam.

"Clamping Cowcatchers!" Emily exclaimed. "My plough is off!" Then, Emily began to slide along icy rails, making her go faster and faster.

"Oh my!" she yelped as she came to a turn on the line. She was frightened to look at what was around that bend…and when she could, it was too late. She veered around the bend, and saw a large snowdrift. She wailed with fright and she slid right into it until her face, buffers and smokebox poked out the other side, blanketed in snow. A muffled voice could be heard. "Ah…Ahh…" Then…

"Ah-CHOO!" Emily sneezed the snow off her face. She watched it spray everywhere then drift down, clearing her view ahead. But then she suddenly noticed.

"Oh dear! Oh, no! I'm stuck!" And she was. Her driver said, "Back, Emily! Back!" Emily tried, but her wheels spun and she couldn't move. More snow fell and piled up behind her. She tried huffing forward, but that didn't work either. The snow as just too heavy for her.

Her driver and fireman got out with a shovel and tried digging the snow out, but that only seemed to worsen the situation. More snow kept sliding down the bank.

"Forget it," sighed Emily. "Nothing we do can get me out right now. If I'm stuck here too long, my boiler will go cold."

"Not quite yet, Emily," said her fireman. "I'll feed a little more coal to your fire." He shoveled some from her tender and tossed into her firebox, making Emily feel a jolt of warmth flow through her, but she suddenly felt frightened. How long would she have to stop here? Until she was frozen? That was not a pleasant thought and she began calling for help.

"Anyone! Over here! Hey! HEY! Help! Please, HELP!" Emily called out. She waited between calls for any sign or sound of someone, but there was none. She called for a minute or two more, but as she kept waiting, no one came. Her driver became concerned too.

"Wait right here, Emily," he said. "I'll run to the nearest signal box and call whatever station Thomas may be at on his Branch Line."

After he ran off, Emily felt more miserable. To make it worse, a sudden gust of wind blew some of the snow on the drift into the air and it plopped down on Emily's face again, just covering her mouth and nose, still letting her see. She took a deep breath and puffed the snow off her face again. Then suddenly, a sign of company…

"Hiya, Emily!" called a familiar voice. Emily looked, and there was David, dressed in a deep blue fur coat and black leather gloves. "Watch what I can do!"

David then took a sprinting run down the hill, jumped and suddenly began sliding along as if he were snowboarding. Under the snow, a thin layer of ice had formed, letting David slide down so quickly. He slid left and right along the hillside until he stopped nearby the line. He waited for Emily to respond or react, but being buried in the snowdrift, she was not in her cheeriest mood and she looked away.

David waited a little longer, then decided to coax her a little. "Well? Speak up, girl. Don't stand there gawking. Go ahead and start talking."

"Oh, David," Emily sighed with shame. "It's nice to see you, but I'm afraid I'm stuck. I had finished my work and was going to look for Thomas to play 'Snowstorm with him, but then it began snowing, then a rock knocked my snowplough off, and I slid right into this snowdrift. I can't huff out at all."

"Oh no!" gasped David. "Well, are you alright?"

"For now, I am," said Emily. "My fireman is carefully feeding my fire a little coal to keep me warm. My driver has gone off for help."

"I see," said David. "Well, I'll stay with you until Thomas comes. It's the least I can do to honour my father's engine."

Emily felt glad to have company, but waiting for Thomas felt very long and worrisome…

Thomas, meanwhile had been clearing more snow himself. He didn't expect the extra snow either, and it made him think more about Emily than earlier. After he had cleared more snow, he was waiting at Ffarquhar Station for Emily. He had not heard anything about Emily since that morning and is began to wonder where she was. He watched the clock and waited ten minutes for her to come along. But she didn't. He tried waiting another ten minutes. By the time those minutes were done, he began to worry.

"Where is she?" he asked aloud. "I do hope she's alright." He was about to wait another ten minutes, when suddenly, he heard the stationmaster talking on the phone. Then the stationmaster hung up and dashed outside.

"Thomas!" he exclaimed. "That was Emily's driver!" He then told Thomas what had happened, making his eyes pop with surprise.

"Oh no! WHY did I wait here twenty minutes?! My poor angel out there, getting cold without me to warm her! Hold on out there, Emily! I'm coming to get you!" he whistled as he dashed away into the snow…

Back at the snowdrift, Emily was still stuck in her pile with David by her side. Her cheeks were becoming rosy from the cold as her fire was starting to weaken.

"Oh, dear!" she sighed. "I should have been more careful along the line. I guess I'm not as careful with snow as I thought!"

And Emily began to cry from her embarrassment. She was also frightened. No help had come ever since she got stuck. And her cries for help didn't bring anyone to her, except David. But he couldn't do anything except keep her company. He saw her crying and drew a handkerchief. He climbed onto her running plate and gently patted her cheeks and dried her tears.

"Don't cry now, Emily," he soothed. "You'll be alright. Your driver will surely find someone to help you. When help comes, you'll be huffing along as if nothing happened." David wanted to cheer Emily up for the moment. He softly held her cheek and gave her a kiss. That managed to make Emily giggle. As he felt her soft cheek on his lips, he watched her close her eyes and heard her beautiful laugh.

"Gosh…Thank you, David," she said after he let go. "You're an amazing new friend, but I still wish I could be helped out of here."

David stepped down and continued to wait with Emily. About ten minutes later, Emily suddenly heard a whistle…one she'd recognize anywhere.

"T-Thomas?" she shivered. She looked as far as she could…then saw him coming quickly along the line.

"THOMAS!" she squealed loudly in delight.

"Emily! There you are!" exclaimed Thomas.

"I'm so pleased to see you!" Emily gasped.

"Whatever happened to you?" asked Thomas. "You look like I did after I rushed through that tunnel before Terence helped me."

"It began to snow, and a rock knocked my plough off," said Emily. "Then I slid along icy tracks and ran into this pile!"

"Well, don't worry, Emily," assured Thomas. "You'll be alright." His driver fetched a chain and hooked it to Thomas' coupling. Then he hooked the other end to Emily's coupling. Thomas winked to Emily, making her smile with anticipation.

David watched and coached the situation. "Are you ready? …HEAVE!"

Thomas tugged as hard as he could. His wheels slipped sometimes, but he would not let the snow hold him back from his angel. He tugged harder and stronger, and soon enough, Emily slowly emerged from her pile of snow. Thomas smiled happily as he gazed at the snow perched all over her. When Thomas stopped, his crew removed the chain, then joined Emily's crew to dust most of the snow off Emily. When they were done, she was still powdered lightly with snow. Thomas asked his driver to briefly remove his snowplough so he could approach Emily. His driver agreed and took it off as requested.

"Oh, Emily…my beautiful snow angel," Thomas beamed. He buffered to her. "Thank goodness." And he gave her nose a little kiss.

"Oh, Tommy," Emily giggled. "Thank you so much."

At that moment, Emily felt another great wave of warmth flow through her. Her fireman had got back in her cab and refueled her fire with more coal. And David stepped up between Thomas and Emily, feeling relieved and proud for Emily's rescue.

"Thank you, Thomas," he said. "So, you call Emily a snow angel?"

"I…I do, David," said Thomas. "She looks so beautiful with a puff of snow on her gorgeous form."

David chuckled and turned to Emily. "Well, Emily, you'll be alright now?"

"Yes, David," said Emily. "Thanks for keeping me company."

"My pleasure," said David. "You too enjoy yourselves now." And he set off through the snow and back home.

"Well, my love…" said Thomas. "How about we find your snowplough and have some fun in the snow?"

Emily kissed Thomas' cheek in response. "Oh, yes, Thomas!"

Thomas' plough was refitted and the two engines went back along the line and soon found her snowplough a few yards past the rock that hit it. While Emily had her plough refitted, Thomas turned around on a wye line so they could play side-by-side. Before long, they were huffing along the line until they came to some unploughed tracks perfect for their game. Emily huffed forward first to give Thomas the first chance.

"Here I come, Emily! Snowstorm!" he whistled and sprayed Emily with snow. She laughed happily as usual, enjoying the game after a whole year of waiting. Then it was her turn, letting Thomas move further in.

"Here I come, Thomas! Snowstorm!" And she sprayed Thomas right back. For quite a long while, Thomas and Emily continued their game, spraying each other with snow, right until sunset and they decided to go home themselves.

Later that night, while the other engines were asleep at Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas and Emily were still awake, thinking about all the events that day. It was full of surprises and unexpected changes, mostly on Emily's behalf. Their drivers took their ploughs off for the night to give them a rest after what had happened that day.

"Uh…Thomas?" she said.

"Yes, Emily?"

"I'm still thinking about what happened today…I guess I'm not as careful with snow as I thought. I guess even I need help with snow sometimes."

Thomas looked at her with a smile. "Hmm…that reminds me…what was it like for you to get a taste of what I went through in the past? What is it like to be stuck in the snow, then see your best friend or loved one come along to help you?"

"Well…like you felt," said Emily. "I felt worried and silly when I was stuck in that pile. I was worried I'd be left out there to get terribly cold…but then when I heard your whistle and saw your form appear into my sight…I was so happy. I now know what it's like to have a loved one to come and help you out of a problem. You were the greatest sight I could ever see in that moment, Thomas."

"Aww, Emily," Thomas blushed. "I was very happy to find you and help you. I promise that if you ever need help, I or a friend will always come for you…" Then Thomas huffed to the turntable and turned round to Emily.

He buffered to her again and whispered, "My beautiful emerald snow angel…I love you, Emily."

Emily gasped softly and whispered back, "I love you too, Thomas, my handsome cobalt snowman." And they shared a soft, warm kiss to the lips together for a lovely long minute. Then Thomas returned to his berth.

"Sweet dreams, Emily. Goodnight," he said.

"Sweet dreams to you too, Thomas. Goodnight," said Emily. And she and Thomas fell asleep. Elsewhere, Rosie and Stanley had a little experience to share together that winter themselves, but that's another story.

* * *

Second story for Christmas has arrived, and as the last line states, the third story is gonna be a Rosie and Stanley story, yes I know it's been nearly half a year or so since I've last focused on these two, but they're finally getting more time in the spotlight. And this story was an idea I've had for ages that I've only now just got around to, but yeah, it's always Emily who saves Thomas from the snow, but this time the roles are reversed. So tell us what you thought of this one, and we'll see you guys next time.


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